Rail-clamp.



P. E. DUTCHER.

RAIL C'LAMP.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23.1916.

L 11.0 Y Patented Apr. 10,1911

WE GHT E. BUTCHER, F MILWAUKEE, WISGQNSIBY, ASSIGNOR TU EUCFRUE GUM- 01* SQ'UTH acmwaumn, WESCQNSEN, A COBFQRATIQN @F WKSCONTSIN.

a L-CLML aeeaies. m nate 0 m Patent! Patented Apr. to, tai '3.

Application filed June at, 1916. Serial No. 105,471.

To aZZ whom it may concern."

Be it known that T, Pinnron'r E. DUTOHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Milwaukee,in the county of-Milwaukee and y a State of Wisconsin, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Rail- Clamps', of which the. following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in connection. with steam shovels, excavating machines and the like which rest upon and travelalong railroad rails. Means are necessary ti) prevent movement of the mechanism along the rail when this is undesirable. Many difierent kinds of clamps have been provided for looking or holding to the rail to furnish an obstruction to the wheels and prevent their movement. The mechanisms are likely to he very heavy and frequently n very heavy pressure willbe applied tending to move the machinery, so such a clamp must he exceedingly strong, rigid and durable and must have an exceedingly strong grip upon the rail in order thatit will not by any pos-' sibility slip or give way.

clamp which will he rigidly and firmly held in position'on the rail wherein the clamping par-twill operate to tighten the clamp in position and wherein that portion of the clamp which takes the hammer blow or engaged the wheel of the truck will rest at,

all times firmly and solidly on the rail so that a series of separate impacts will exfi ert no tendency toward releasing the clamp or the clamp locking mechanism.

The objects of my invention are to provide a clamp which will rigidly and securely attach and hold itself upon the rail which will take theimpact of the car wheel without damage or danger of loosening, .and which will not gradually work loose under the effect of a series of separate impacts or blows.

Other objects of my invention will appear from time to time in the specification. The invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings wherein-'- t) Figure lis a side elevation of a fragment of track and fragment of car wheel showing the clamp in position;

- Fig. 2 is a plan view of the clamp in its normal operative position showing it in dotted lines about to be disengaged;

My invention is designed to provide a' Fig. 3 is a side. elevation on an enlarged scale of the clamp itself;

Fig. 4 is a section through the rail showing the clamp in end elevation; Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a modified form of clamp.

Like parts are indicated by like letters throughout all the figures.

A is a railroad rail having the usual type of head A This head A hasaslope or tapered under surface on either side A A A is a wheel to support the shovel, car or other railroad truck, adapted to ride upon and roll along the head of the rail. It is this wheel that is to be limited in its rotational movement by the clamp or look which I am about to describe.

B is the body of the clamp. It is adapted to overlie and be substantially parallel with the top of the rail. The forward portion of the clamp as at 'B is adapted to rest smoothly and squarely and firmly upon the rail. B is a rib projecting upwardly from the body of the clamp B. It is apertured .ed by a curved surface B substantially concentric with the periphery of the car wheel. B is a short lug projecting to one side of the body of the clamp adjacent the rail contacting portion B. This lug extends down on one side of the rail a short distance, preferably as shown equal to about half of the Width of the head. The depth of this lug is such that the clamp may when free, be tipped up to bring this lug out of engagement with the side of the rail to permit the clamp to be rotated into the position shown in dotted lines on the opposed side of the clamp. Adjacent the front end of the clamp is a heavy hook C. This hook extends down and around the head of the rail and is provided with an inclined rail head engaging surface C The inclination of this surface on the upperside of the hook is substantially equal to the inclination of the lower side of the rail head, so that normally this surface rests smoothly and firmly against the lower side of the rail head when the parts are in the clamping position. C is a hook projecting from the same side of the clamp body as the lug B. This hook is nearer to the rear end of the clamp. Its upper surface which is adapted' to contactthe lower side of the rail head is more sharply inclined than the underside of the rail head so that when the parts are in the position shown in Fig.4 the upper inclined I such that when the clamp is rotated into the position shown in dotted lines, there is a gap between the two hooks so that the clamp may be disengaged from the rail, the two hooks riding up along the side of the rail without engaging the head thereof.

The rear end of the clamp terminates in a downwardly hanging lug D separated from the body of the clamp by a groove D which groove is adapted to engage and guide a wedge D This wedge rests against the rear side of the hook C lies upon the rail and is held in position by the clamp B, when driven it tends to rotate the clamp upwardly about the forward end thereof where it engages the rail and also tends to draw or clamp the parts together owing to the action of the inclined surfaces of the hook.

It will be-evident that While I have shown in my drawings an operative device, still many changes might be made both in size,

shape and arrangement of parts withoutdeparting materially from the spirit of my invention, and I wish therefore that my drawings be regarded as in a sense diagrammatic. I

The use and operation of my invention are as follows:

When the clamp is to be used in connection with a railroad rail to stop or limit-the movement of a Wheel such as is shown, the

,clamp is. first approached to the rail in the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. It

lowered down on the rail and it rests upon the upper surface thereof with the hooks one on either side of the rail. The forward end of the clamp is then. tilted up enough to permit the small lug on the forward end to slide over the top of the rail bringing the parts into position substantially as shown in Fig. 3. In this position the hooks will probably hang down sli htly below the under surface of the head 0 the rail. The forward lug will engage or rest against the side of the head of the rail and the books will be one on either side of the rail. On a full sized rail there will probably be just a very slight amount of clearance between the two hooks and the edges or sides of the rail head. On the smaller rail there would be more clearance.

The wedge is theninserted beneath the tail end of the clamp and driven home. It

. ther movements tend to lift intermediate hook into snug position with the upper inclined surface 'snu ly contactingthe under side of the rail ead. Further up, and tend to cause the rear hook to-slide upwardly. The inclination of the rail contacting surface is such that it tends to move to the left in Fig. 4, thus rotating the parts furthe clamp in a clockwise position as shown in Fig. 2, thus clamping the lug B firmly against the rail head and clampingthe hook on the opposed side firmly against the rail head so as to hold the clamp firmly and rigidly in position on the rail with a firm end. The result of "this is that the clamp is locked in position and held against movement along the rail and any impact upon the clamp by the wheel when it strikes the clamp will be taken rigidly through the body of the clamp against the rail and there will be no tendency to rock or displace or strain the clamp and the wedge will thus be able to stay firmly and rigidly in position holding their parts in the proper operative relation.

The effect of the operation of the device and the cooperation of its parts tends to bearing surface on the rail at the forward firmly and rigidly draw the forward end of the clamp down snugly against the rail,

It will be understood that the inclination of the hook is such that it twists the clamp snugly into position as shown no matter from which side the weight is driven. In:

other words, any slight frictional tendency .of the Wedge tending to twist the clamp-in upper surface of the hook.

claim: l

1. A rail clamp comprisingabody portionadapted normally to overlie and be in parallelism with the head of the rail, and means for holding it in place and for.forcing one end thereof into thoroughly continuous contact with the top of the rail, this means comprising clamping adapted to engage the under side of the rail and a wedge adapted to be insertedbetween the body and the rail on the side of the hook removed from the rail contacting end of the body. s 4

2. A rail clamp comprising a body portion adapted normally to overlie and be in parallelism with the head of the rail, a rail head contacting member projecting downwardly therefrom and adapted to hooks make a smooth continuous contact with the.

i naaaiee and a wedge adapted to be thrust between the. body of the clampand the rail at a point removed from the contacting member.

3. A rail clamp comprising a body portion adapted normally to overlie and be in parallelism with the head of the rail, a rail head contacting member projecting downwardly therefrom and adapted to make a smooth continuous contact with the upper surface of the rail, means comprising a lug extending downwardly from such contacting member to engage one side of the rail and comprising hooks engaging the bottomand sides of the head of the rail for clamping the clamp body in position on the rail.

4. A rail clamp comprising a body portion adapted normally to overlie and be in parallelism with the head of the rail, the hooks projecting downwardly from either side thereof and having inclined upper surfaces adapted to engage the lower side of the head of the rail, one of said hooks being adapted to fit snugly and closely on the rail and having its inclined surface of substantially the same inclination as the under surface of the rail, the other having its upwardly inclined surface more sharply inclined than the under surface of the rail.

tion adapted normally to overlie and be in parallelism with the head of the rail, the

hooks projecting downwardly from either side thereofand having inclined upper surfaces adapted to engage the lower side of the head of the rail, one of said hooks being adapted to fit snugly and closely on the rail and having its inclined surface of substantially the same inclination as the under surface of the rail, the other having its upwardly inclinedsurface more sharply inclined than the under surface of the rail,

' v and means for raising the clamp upwardly away from the rail to bring said hooks into firm and rigid engagement with the under side of the rail.

6. A rail clamp comprising a body portion adapted normally to overlie and be in parallelism with the head of the rail, the hooks 5. Arail clamp comprisinga body por-- of the clamp and engaging the side of the rail to resist the rotation of the clampcaused by the sharplyinclined surface of one of the ooks. 1

7. Aerail clamp comprising a body portion adaptednormally to overlie and be in parallelism with the headof the rail, the hooks projecting downwardly from either side thereof and having inclined upper surfaces adapted to engagethe lower side of the head of theraiLone of said hooks being adapted to fit snugly and closely on the rail and having its inclined'surface of substantially the same inclination as the under surface of the rail, the other having its upwardly inclined surface more sharply inclined than the under surface of the rail, a tread. member downwardly projecting from the under side of the clamp body and adapted to make a firm, smooth and regular contact with the upper surface of the rail.

8. A rail clamp comprising a body portion adapted normally to overlie and be in parallelism with the head of the rail, the hooks projecting downwardly from either side thereof and having inclined upper surfaces adapted to engage the lower side of the head of the rail, one of said hooks being adapted to fit snugly and closely on the rail and having its inclined surface of substantially the same inclination as the under surface of the rail, the other having its upwardly inclined surface more sharply inclined than the under surface of the rail, and means for raising the clamp upwardly away from the rail to bring said hooks into firm and rigid engagement with the under side of the rail, a tread member downwardly projecting from the under side of the clamp body and adapted to make a firm, smooth and regular contact with the upper surface of the rail.

9. A rail clamp comprising a body portion adapted normally to overlie and be in parallelism with the head of the rail, the hooks projecting downwardly from either side thereof and having inclined upper surfaces adapted to engage the lower side of the headof the rail, one of said hooks being adapted to fit snugly and closely on the rail and having its inclined surface of substantially the same inclination as the under surface of the rail, the other having its upwardly inclined surface more sharply inclined than the under surface of the rail, and means comprising a lug downwardly projecting from the body of the clamp and engaging the side of the rail to resist the rotation of the clamp caused by the sharply inclined surface of one the rail head, their upper rail contacting surfaces of varying slopes, a lug adapted to 1 rest on top of the rail head, and a wedge cooperating with the hooks to force the lug down on the rail.

11. A rail clamp comprisingv a body portion, three lugs projecting downwardly from the sides thereof, two on one side and one on the other said lugs being adapted to automatically center the clamp on the rail and hold it on the'head, and a wedge adaptedtto engage the rear end of the clamp, rotate one end upwardly, 'clamp' the other end down on the rail and tolock the hooks and lugs in position.

12. A rail clamp comprising a bod y adapted to overlie and rest upon the rail, a rail contacting member carried by the body and adapted to rest'on'the rail, hooks integral with such clamp member adapted to engage either side of the head of the rail and a wedge adapted to engage the body and the rail at a point removed from such hooks to clamp the end of the body firmly upon the rail.

13. A rail clamp comprising a body portion adapted to overlie and remain in parallelism with the upper surface of the rail,

'a rail contacting lug carried thereby and F adapted to rest upon" the upper; surface of the rail, a hookprojecting downwardly fromthe'clamp at apoint removed from such lug such size [as to make a close snug fit around the side of the head and the under sloped surface of the head; a lugpro'jecting downwardly from the rail contacting portion on the body on the'side removed from such hook, and a second hook projecting downwardly from the body of the clamp on the same side as the lug, the first hook being between the lug and the secondhook, the

second hook having an upper inclined surface the slope of which is more sharp than the slope of the under side of the rail head,

-and means for raising the rear end of the clamp to bring such hooks into engagement 

